etec565

Tonight John hosted a Wimba session on Moodle. I have participated in other Wimba discussions so it seems familiar. The session focused on some of the affordance of Moodle. I have been reluctant to do much on my Moodle site until I felt that I had some understanding of it. To conquer some of my worries and fears I decided after the Wimba session to work my way through some of the Moodle activities.

I managed to add a simple Welcome page and a discussion forum. It went well due to the explicit directions. It was a bit slow going as I learn best visually and reading directions tests my patience.

I was surprised that I did find success in this experience tonight and I managed to attack a tiny bit off my fear factor of Moodle.

Creating a Moodle Course for a Grade One Social Studies Curriculum for Blended
And e-Learning

A Proposal

Leslie Dawes

ETEC 565, John Egan

University of British Columbia

(Word count 997) excluding References, Title Page, and Address of School Board representative
Learning Management System Proposal
To: Principal of Technology / West Vancouver School Board
http://www.sd45.bc.ca/
From: Leslie Dawes, Teacher
Grade One
Irwin Park Elementary

June 12, 2011
Please review the following proposal as a consideration for the 2011/20012 school year to develop West Vancouver’s goal to enhance learning in a face to face classroom that harnesses technology for engagement and achievement for learners in the 21st century schools.
Introduction
The following dissertation proposes to implement a Learning Management System, Moodle, an acronym for (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), to support K-12 classroom teachers; specifically aimed for tailor-made material designed to support Grade One Social Studies curriculum in a blended learning and e-learning situation.
Currently, there is not a Learning Management System set up to accommodate an online course that may also be used with a F2F classroom. The B.C. Ministry of Education has strongly encouraged school districts to provide technological education that is current and meets their objectives for the 21st Century Learner.
What is Moodle?
Moodle is a Learning Management System (LMS) that affords resources and tools to be accessed through an online system that incorporates design components for course learning and assessment. This proposal of Moodle, would be used to support and extend classroom instruction making it a blended and e-learning environment.
Why Moodle?
• An open source software that is affordable
• Affords pedagogically sound site design based on Constructivist-based learning
• Provides scaffolding of learning activities-constructivist processes
• Naturally interfaced with Web 2.0
• Many tools such as wikis and blogs are available to create learning communities
• Educators can customize to facilitate individualized learning
• Assists educators in delivering online instruction with the affordance of assessment
• Alternate way to teach and support learning
• Presents diversity in professional pedagogy using technology
• Safety is the up most consideration as Moodle ensures a protected password and it can be link to district libraries.
• Encourages asynchronous and synchronous communication with language options

Theory and Pedagogy for e-Learning
The theory behind many e-learning courses is Social Constructionism. Moodle creates a framework to support the idea that learning is a journey of knowledge building. That knowledge is constructed through collaboration and shared experiences. Moodle represents a learning environment that is flexible, adaptable and one that facilitates active participation. Educational pedagogy supports opportunities for students to become critical thinkers, self regulators, and collaborators.

Rationale and Selection of LMS – (Moodle)
My rationale and selection is specific to the grade that I teach however by applying for a district initiative to implement an online open source platform, such as Moodle is inclusive of its intended use for K-12. My students have had experience with several online programs and various affordances in our virtual classroom. An integral part of my classroom management is in the important school/ home connection. With Moodle, home connection is encouraged and facilitated through the benefit of login capabilities through the parent community. School to home support is an important and integral component of students learning to read and write.
One important component of educational pedagogy is providing activities of educational value, teaching, and instructing in a professional capacity. The selection of specific technological platforms and devices depends on careful assessment. The SECTIONS framework as designed by Bates & Poole (2003) offers teaching professionals specific criteria to base selection of technology to support best practices.
According to Seymour Papert, “We live in a society in which a rapid and accelerating change in social life, the economy and the kind of work that people do is transforming the way knowledge is acquired. It is pretty widely accepted that knowledge in the twenty-first century is going to be very different.” Papert, S. (1998). Creating schools that keep in touch with changing technological processes that reflect today’s society is imperative.
How are we educating our future generation to have the knowledge and skills needed in the 21st Century?
How to Evaluate MOODLE?
The SECTIONS framework as designed by Bates & Poole (2003) offers teaching and administrative professionals specific criteria to base selection of technology to support the district’s technology philosophy and its integration. All criteria in the SECTIONS model serve a purpose for this proposal. The following highlights an assessment of Moodle using SECTIONS criteria.
Students- A blended approach (F2F/ e-learning) provide extended and supportive activities.
Ease of Use, Reliability, and Accessibility- the school monitors the system and it is virtually protective of crashes. Students can easily assess the program at home and school.
Cost- The low cost of the Moodle source code and built in technical support is $100/year per class and up to $1,000/year for an entire school or district.
Teaching and Learning- Online Home Reading and Online Math gaming has proved successful this year with the Grade Ones and it has supported student learning.
Interactivity- Activities will be built to support social constructionism within a collaborative environment.
Organization- Moodle offers limit design pages that assist the teacher to focus on content.
Novelty- Moodle has been successfully tested in other School Districts.
Speed- Moodle provides support with course design templates and instruction.
Course for Development
My proposal to develop a Learning Management System using Moodle for Grade One Social Studies (BC IRPs- Communities) http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/ will be designed through three modules. The first will address the student’s immediate learning environment- school/family; the second module will show a larger community- West Vancouver; and the third will include British Columbia within the context of Canada. These modules will address all the learning outcomes of the Grade One Social Studies program. Activities will be interactive, cumulative, and collaborative.

Conclusion
Thank you for your consideration of my proposal to integrate a Learning Management System using Moodle. This application to integrate Moodle into the district technological initiatives is a result of prior research to gain insight into the best online management system.
Moodle is an ideal platform to implement and develop course content to supplement classroom activities that offer a constructivist philosophy to enhance educational material. Best practice in pedagogical education by meeting the technological needs of the 21st learner is my upmost consideration and Moodle is a way to achieve that goal.

References:
Bates, A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology, In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco; Jossey-Bass.4.
Blackboard Web CT Vista. Retrieves June 7, 2011 from http: http://www.blackboard.com/
Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. Accessed online 11 March2009http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm

MOODLE. Retrieved June 8, 20011 from http://moodle.org/
Moodle Statistics. http://moodle.org/stats/
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NET S_for_Teachers_2008.htm
Panettieri, J. (2007). Addition by subtraction. University Business, August, 58-62. Accessed online 11 March 2009. http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=845
Papert, S. (1998). Child Power: Keys to the New Learning of the Digital Century. This speech was delivered at the eleventh Colin Cherry Memorial Lecture on Communication on June 2, 1998, at the Imperial College in London.
Perkins, M. & Pfaffman, J. (2006). Using a Course Management System to Classroom Communication. Science Teacher, 73(7), 33.

Reflection
Write an entry for your course weblog about your experience here (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry). How labour intensive was the process? What worked well? What was challenging? What surprised you?

After spending time experimenting with Google’s Picasa I found that it was fun and navigating around the sites was fairly easy. I tried uploading, adding the picture to desktop, renaming, then cropping and resizing. The utube videos were helpful to watch, however I really learn well by actually doing. I also had fun making a collage. I found that I could move the pictures around and add white borders.I tried movie maker which I can see will be advantageous in the future. Retouching, was interesting and it surprised me how it erased part of the photo.
Having now downloaded Picasa I will definitely use it in many different ways to enhance my photos.

Write an entry for your course weblog about mLearning as both an end user and course designer (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry).

I found the information in Educause very interesting. Our school district has made statements as to the viability and practicality of hand held devices. Chris Kennedy, our Supertendent has spoken at conferences as to the positive aspects of their use in the classrom. The article by Ellen Wagner, “Enabling Mobile Learning” was very informative. She mentions that mobile learning needs to meet criteria such as ubiquity, access, richness, efficiency, flexibility, security, reliability, and interactivity. I also feel that cost is an important criteria to consider.

I tried some of the activities on my phone such as capturing a photo and taking a video. My phone has internet, however I have not paid to be on a plan that includes that, so any use is very expensive. My reason for this is I have a laptop, a recently bought netbook and a computer on my desk at school. I am never very far from any of them. My phone would be a good alternative if I didn’t have the other options.

I used my daughter’s iphone to access ETEC 565 WebCT Vista course and it worked very well. I could see a lot of positive things about having a mobile device depending on one’s needs. I also took a picture and she showed me how she uploads to her website. (learning from others!) She also showed me all her different apps for her phone and what others apps are available.
My response to MLearning is positive as some of the affordances are flexibility and convenience. I see cost as something that needs to be accessed so that the monthly cellphone bill is affordable. It would be best to compare various carrier’s plans and options for the many different types of devices on the market. An assessment tool such as a self generated rubric could be used for this evaluation.
I would like to have an iphone in the future but it would have to serve a need and be cost effective. It does not meet that criteria for me at this time. I feel that they may be serve a very good purpose in the classroom as they are portable and the interactivity of them makes moble devices a good reason to consider using.

Write an entry for your course weblog about your experience here (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry). How labour intensive was the process? What worked well? What was challenging? What surprised you?

I love wikis! Last term when I was in Etec 510 one of our projects was to contribute to a wiki. You could edit one or write a new one. I chose to edit social networks. I already knew some things about social networks, after all I was on Facebook and I saw the movie!

I love Wikis as they are a collaborative effort to reflect, write and revise. They can be used in many different ways in Education at different levels. They can be related to an educational online course such as webct etec510 or they can be created by teachers in any grade for the purpose of collaborating knowledge to create a substantive growing resource.

Their affordances are fairly easy to learn and use. Once you spend time, like everything else, you easily become familiar with how to add, revise, and update information.

Reflection

Write an entry for your course weblog about your experience here (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry). How labour intensive was the process? What worked well? What was challenging? What surprised you?

Weblogs: As with anything new, the first time I went through the steps to set up a weblog was somewhat intimidating. It did go well and I started to understand the affordances it offered. Etec 565 is the second weblog that I have set up and as a result of working my way through the toolkit, I have set up a weblog for my other course this term, Etec 531. I have made some pages and added a video that I created called, “I am an Artist.”
I am finding that a weblog helps me reflect on my own learning as it gives me the opportunity to articulate my experience, my learning, and my needs for further learning. It is also easy and fun to use.

Reflection
Write an entry for your course weblog about your experience here (on your “Home” page and posting a new entry). How labour intensive was the process? What worked well? What was challenging? What surprised you?

Synchronous Communication Tools:After reviewing all of the different ways for communication, I can say that I have had experience with Skype (a lot). It is an economic way to talk with my daughter when she is away travelling or in L.A. at Music Institute school. I like it a lot for its affordances, mainly video with the audio.
I have also used MSN messenger, which is a good way to type instant messages with the other person online.
I have used webct vista chat rooms several times now in various courses. They are good when there is an expectation of set protocols for talking set up.
I have also used Wimba and Googledocs for communicating. Googledocs is good when working on a particular assignments as everyone can view and add at the same time.
All these different ways offer benefits. It is good to review each to determine when each one meets your needs.

Welcome to my e-portfolio for ETEC 565. This is my second blog at UBC. I am currently in my third semister in the Masters of Education Technology (MET). Within this blog I will post my reflections and assignments. This will demonstrate my learning this term. I look forward to working and learning with everyone.

Leslie Dawes